extended family

noun

: a family that includes in one household near relatives (such as grandparents, aunts, or uncles) in addition to a nuclear family

Given space, there are ways in which even larger populations than the extended family can be accommodated under one roof.

—Paul Oliver

also : an extensive group of people who are related by blood or marriage or who otherwise regard themselves as a large family

Four out of every five people who go through a first divorce remarry … . Thus it is that husbands and wives, their former partners, children and stepchildren, and a whole constellation of grandparents and other relatives are brought together in the new American extended family.

—Michael Norman

During his five years at Owen High, he turned his teams into an extended family and tried to instill in his players the same sense of self-worth that Baldwin had imparted to him years before.

—William Nack

Synonyms

• home
• house
• household
• ménage

Examples of extended family in a Sentence

their extended family includes a grandmother and widowed aunt

Recent Examples on the Web

The tab for celebratory dinners with his extended family often approached four digits, and his paycheck as a software engineer wasn’t stretching as far as before. —Rebecca Ellis, Los Angeles Times, 10 Dec. 2024

Robertson and his extended family were originally turned into TV and pop culture stars in 2012. —Janelle Ash, Fox News, 7 Dec. 2024

But when that friend passed away, the woman’s extended family kicked Stevens out of the house. —Carly Stern, Vox, 6 Dec. 2024

My heartfelt condolences go out to Thea and Neale’s extended family. —Jamie Barton, CNN, 3 Dec. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

circa 1935, in the meaning defined above

Kids Definition

extended family

noun

: a family that includes parents and children and other relatives (as grandparents, aunts, or uncles) in the same household

Medical Definition

extended family

noun

: a family that includes in one household near relatives in addition to a nuclear family